Review of Literature

Review of Literature
Chapter Five

The Value of a Literature Review

The literature review is helpful in two ways:

Helps researchers present the ideas of others interested in

a particular research question
Allows them to see the results of similar studies
performed or questions answered

This is usually required for master theses or

doctoral dissertations.
Researchers need to know what has taken place
in other work related to their study.
Researchers also need to evaluate this work to
determine its relevance to their research
question.

Types of Sources

Researchers need to be familiar with three basic

types of sources:

General references: most are either indexes or abstracts

listed by the author, title, or place of publication
Primary sources: publications found in journals published
monthly or quarterly
Secondary sources: textbooks where authors describe the
works of others

The two methods used to perform a literature

review are:

Manually: traditional paper approach

Electronically: use of a computer

Steps Involved in a Literature Search

Define the research problem as precisely as

possible
Look at relevant secondary sources
Select one or two appropriate general reference
works
Formulate search terms pertinent to the problem
Search the general references for relevant
primary sources
Obtain and read relevant primary sources; note
and summarize key points in the sources

Sample Note Card (Figure 5.5)

Doing a Computer Search

Many online computer terminals are linked to one

or more information retrieval systems (i.e., ERIC).
Steps involved in a computer search are as
follows:

Define the problem as precisely as possible

Decide on the extent of the search (number of
references)
Decide on the database (i.e., ERIC)
Select descriptors (words that tell the computer what to
search for), a.k.a boolean operators
Conduct the search by entering them into the computer
Obtain a printout of desired references

Researching the World Wide Web

Part of the Internet

A vast reservoir of information on all topics
Using the WWW is an essential element when
performing a literature review, despite the use of ERIC
and other databases of choice
Use of the following is essential when searching on the
WWW:

Use of a Web Browser: (computer program allowing access to the

WWW)
Use of search engines (programs that allow extensive searches
throughout the WWW by indexing them via the description typed)
Use of directories (group websites linked by similar categorical
terms)

Yahoo Search Engine (Figure 5.9)

Advantages of Searching
the World Wide Web

Currency
Access to a wide variety of materials
Varied formats
Immediacy

Disadvantages of Searching
the World Wide Web

Disorganization
Validity of information sometimes not known
Outdated web sites
Lack of empirical or peer-reviewed studies
Possible hidden costs

Literature Review Report

A literature review report consists of:

Introduction
Body of the review
Summary
Researchers conclusion
Bibliography
A meta-analysis is a statistical procedure when the
researcher averages the results of a group of selected
studies to get an overall index of outcome or
relationship.
A literature review should include a search for relevant
meta-analysis reports, as well as individual studies